Cancer screening ready for roll-out

THE CHIEF executive of the National Cancer Screening Service (NCSS) has said that it has the funding in place to roll out the cervical cancer screening programme in the summer.

Tony O'Brien told the Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children yesterday that the screening service was not part of the Health Service Executive and that it did not come under its financial or employment ceilings.

He said that the NCSS received its money in a separate allocation from the Department of Health.

Replying to concerns raised by members of the committee that the planned roll-out of the cervical cancer screening programme could be hit by the HSE's €300 million financial difficulties, Mr O'Brien said that "the money is in the bag". He said that while the programme would be launched in the summer, the exact date had not yet been set.

Mr O'Brien said that the NCSS was examining tenders received from internationally-accredited laboratories to carry out the screening analysis. The successful tender would be selected by the end of April.

He told the committee that the NCSS was seeking a turn-around time of 10 days for results of cervical smear tests. Up to 300,000 women per year will be invited to have smear tests once the new programme is introduced.

However, Mr O'Brien said that once the service was rolled out nationally, "opportunistic" screening of women for cervical cancer would end.

He said that the screening service had completed a consultation process with GPs and others who would carry out cervical screening services and that a revised contract would be drawn up in the weeks ahead.

Meanwhile, Mr O'Brien also said that the NCSS had received an assessment of the introduction of a cervical cancer vaccination programme.

He said that the NCSS would make recommendations to the Minister for Health soon, based on this report, which had been drawn up by the Health Information and Quality Authority.